Jordan Wolf and Duke defeat Notre Dame to secure second NCAA lacrosse title in a row

Baltimore — It was a mildly bittersweet afternoon for Duke attackman Jordan Wolf as he played his final college game.

His performance was a reminder no else in the college game is upset his illustrious career has come to a close.

Wolf was named the NCAA tournament's most outstanding player after a two-goal, four-assist effort as the top-seeded Blue Devils held off sixth-seeded Notre Dame 11-9 before 25,587 at M&T Bank Stadium.

Despite producing its lowest goal output in more than two months, Duke (17-3) still joined 2008-09 Syracuse as the only back-to-back Division I lacrosse champions in the last 15 years.

"This one is a little more sad just because it's my last game at Duke," Wolf said. "I'm just so fortunate to be at a place like this, and it just sucks that I have to leave. But it's a good way to walk away."

Freshman Sergio Perkovic scored five goals for the Fighting Irish (12-6), who were surprisingly sloppy in the first half but closed quickly to create intrigue in the final 10 minutes.

It was Wolf, who produced a program-record 103 points this season and finished his career second in ACC history with 304 points, who consistently provided a cushion for the Blue Devils.

After the Irish scored four straight goals to close within 8-6, Wolf beat goalie Conor Kelly (12 saves) on a re-dodge to create some breathing room. He assisted Kyle Keenan on a goal with 2:39 to go to make it 10-8. And after Perkovic brought the Irish back within a goal with 49.6 seconds left, it was Wolf who beat a double team coming out of a timeout to score on an open net with 23.6 seconds remaining.

"I think he's the best attackman in the country," said Keenan, who scored twice, as did midfielders Deemer Class and Myles Jones.

It was the third national championship in five years for Duke, a stretch that has further solidified John Danowski as one of the sport's most accomplished coaches. He's taken the Blue Devils to the semifinals eight times in as many years, and his three NCAA titles is tied for fifth all-time.

Unlike a year ago, when Duke blasted Syracuse 16-10 and dominated the final three quarter, it built an early advantage and then held on. The Blue Devils led 5-1 at the half, benefitting from an Irish offense that couldn't get out of its own way.

While defenseman Henry Lobb helped slow down Notre Dame attackman Matt Kavanagh (two goals and an assist) and goalie Luke Aaron rebounded from getting yanked in back-to-back games to stop nine shots, the Irish also wasted possession after possession in the first 30 minutes.

"We were so bad in the first half," Notre Dame coach Kevin Corrigan said. "We had 11 turnovers in the first half. That's a game's worth of turnovers, and I'm going to say two of them were forced and a bunch of them [were] just throwing the ball out of bounds."

But the Irish exacted something they wanted from Duke: To run the Blue Devils' short-handed midfield into the ground. Both Class and Jones were trapped on defense on several occasions, and the pair combined for just one goal after the break.

Notre Dame's depth manifested itself later, and it twice cut the deficit to one before Duke promptly managed a response.

"We did what we wanted to do in that part of the game," Corrigan said. "We just didn't get enough points on the board before that. I thought the last 20 minutes of the game went just like we hoped it would go for the most part. Obviously not the last couple goals, but we just dug ourselves too big a hole."

Instead, the Irish will have to wait to claim their first national title. It was Duke, with its reconstructed midfield, that savored another Memorial Day celebration.

"Those guys last year when they won their second, they told us that there was no better feeling in the world than to have two rings," Jones said.

Now he and the Blue Devils know going back-to-back isn't necessarily twice as nice, but it's awfully close.